The present disclosure generally relates to measurement of strain and/or temperature in rotating machinery.
Rotary machinery, for example, blades in an aircraft engine, may experience conditions during operation, which may damage the machinery. Accurate measurements of these conditions, including strain and temperatures, are necessary to take appropriate measures to correct or prevent any damage that may occur in the rotary machinery. One approach to measurement of strain and/temperature in rotary machinery may use wired sensors, which require wiring between a rotating component and a stationary part of the rotary machinery. However, a wired approach may be complex, expensive, and unreliable, due in part to the high temperature of the machinery in operation, as the electronic characteristics of the wiring may limit the range of temperatures over which a wired sensor may operate accurately.
Due to the limitations of wired sensors, wired measurements of a rotary machine may only be taken during testing of the rotary machinery; during operation in the field, wires sensors may be impractical. However, monitoring these conditions over the entire lifespan of the rotary machinery is desirable to ensure reliable operation of the rotary machinery. Strain and/or temperature measurements taken in the field may be correlated with control parameters to optimize field operation of the rotary machinery. Change observed in these measurements over time may be also used to assess the health of the blades of the rotary machinery, allowing for appropriate maintenance scheduling.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a sensor, and more particularly a strain sensor or a temperature sensor, that is accurate over a wide range of temperatures and conditions, and that may be used over the lifespan of rotary machinery.